Live blog: Public schools open their doors

Kids head back after tumultuous summer break

Oct. 11, 2011

Public schools across central Wisconsin opened their doors this morning as summer break came to an end and kids headed back to class. The Wausau Daily Herald will be reporting from every local district today with updates on what's new at each school and how students, parents, teachers and administrators are coping.

Check back for regular updates.

4:08 p.m.: Everything at the IDEA Charter School in Weston, which opened to 64 students for the first time today, is brand new.

Steve Pophal, principal of D.C. Everest Junior High School, is overseeing the new charter school. He said the school is arranged very differently from a traditional building — with one large room where students of all ages have work stations instead of classrooms divided by grade.

“We had activities the last few weeks to help everyone adjust,” Pophal said. “A town hall meeting where we had discussions and group activities to help the kids begin to get to know each other.”

In future years, the school hopes to expand the number of students beyond this year’s goal of 60, Pophal said.

2:51 p.m.:Students at the new Marathon Venture Academy, the project-based charter school that's taken the place of Marathon Middle School, each were handed iPads for their use during the school year. The devices hold some textbooks, and various applications that will be directly related to their studies. The iPads also will offer up educational lessons, such as grammar and math exercises.

The Venture Academy wraps its curriculum around themes. The first 11 weeks of the school will be centered around a "Mind-Body-Spirit" theme.

1:22 p.m.:Wausau West High School Principal Jeb Steckbauer said his school will have at least 10 unexpected students this year — students who showed up today to register for classes.

A few students typically show up on the first day every year to register for classes, but the high number this year caught him by surprise.

Several dozen upperclassmen who are members on the school’s Link Crew walked around school wearing lime green T-shirts to make themselves stand out from the crowd. These students gave freshmen a tour of the school on Monday and helped them learn about Wausau West.

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Today, the Link Crew members answered questions about where to find classrooms and how to understand class schedules. Wausau West students have schedules that change every day, and understanding them can take a few days. Classes meet in large groups, small groups or a lab setting, depending upon the day.

The flexible scheduling also creates additional free time during the day for students, Link crew member Tony Shepherd said.

“It’s definitely a challenge for freshmen to balance homework versus socializing,” said Shepherd, a 17-year-old senior.

1 p.m.: The approximately 280 students in the freshman class at Wausau East High School were able to ease into their new digs today, as the staff and faculty keep the class entirely separate from upper classmen throughout the day.

The freshmen go through an abbreviated schedule, have an opportunity to join groups like the Spanish Club and make new friends, Principal Brad Peck said.

"And they don't have to worry about that intimidation factor walking through the hallways with upper classmen," Peck said. "Everything is done to ensure a smooth transition."

Overall, about 1,170 students attend Wausau East, Peck said.

12:50 p.m.: Tom Nienow, 15, today started his second year in the two-year-old Wausau Engineering and Global Leadership Academy, located inside Wausau East High School. The sophomore said he's found the perfect fit at the academy.

"I never liked traditional schools," he said. "I like to work at my own pace in a more unstructured setting, and I love math and science and technology more than any other subject."

Nienow and the other 48 students at the academy each will design their own projects to complete by the end of the year. Last year, Nienow designed a project based on electricity generated during sporting events — such as the energy from a baseball after it is thrown and spins through the air. This year, Nienow plans to focus on environmental engineering.

"I want to find new ways to generate sustainable technology," he said.

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12:05 p.m.: By lunchtime at the D.C. Everest Middle School, the sixth-graders were feeling confident in their new school. Students in the D.C. Everest Area School District attend one of the district’s six elementary schools from kindergarten through fifth grade and then move on to the middle school for sixth and seventh grade. The biggest problem the sixth-grade students seemed to have was opening their lockers. Most of the elementary schools in the Everest district do not have lockers for students.

“I still haven’t been able to get my locker open,” said sixth-grader Claire Burns as she ate her lunch.

Sixth-grader Nick Roberts had to enter his locker combination twice before he could open his locker.

“Mine wouldn’t open earlier, but I think I’m getting the hang of it now,” he said as the lock gave way and the door opened.

11:55 a.m.: Principal Rick Koepke, when asked if he was ready for the first day and responding to the fact that they are receiving new students from Schofield Elementary.

"We feel great. The first day of school is very exciting. The kids come in with fresh faces and ready to begin."

Evergreen Elementary School received approximately 35 students from Schofield Elementary bringing their student count to 478. The school staff have been preparing for the extra students and principal Rick Koepke said they are ready for them.

"We've all been working real hard for weeks to prepare for this day. People don't see how hard our staff works. Teachers didn't have to be back until Monday (Aug. 29), but our teachers have been in and out for the last three weeks. It’s not a side of our staff that people see.”

“We have great parent volunteers, with the PTO and Parent Link, which is a group of moms that come the first few days of school just to help out with the kindergarteners. They help them get through the day”

Students and parents started arriving at Evergreen Elementary School about 8 a.m. this morning although school didn't start until 8:45 a.m. Parents and students alike appeared excited, yet a little anxious.

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Nancy Rothamer, president of Parent Link, a parent volunteer group, said the first day is always the best.

“We wear smiley faces around our necks to welcome the new students. We show the kindergarteners where to go, help out at lunchtime with the rules of where to sit, how to dispose of their trash, saving the silverware and stacking their trays."

Rothamer herself has a fifth-grader attending the school, but also an eighth-grader and senior.

Donna Heil had her hands full this morning, bringing in two students for school who transferred here from Schofield Elementary and also brought along her 3-year-old, Corbin.

“I’m feeling good about it (the transfer). Of course, it was sad, but everything happens for a reason.”

Her daughter, Erika, who is in second grade agreed with her mom.

“It’s okay, but it’s a little sad. I’m looking forward to seeing one of my friends from Schofield, but I look forward to seeing other kids too,” Erika said. “I’m nervous and excited at the same time.”

Tanner, who is in first-grade just said he is happy, “very happy,” about the first day.

Mother, Michelle Luedke-Stetzer, brought in all three of her boys, all attending Evergreen. Adam Luedke is in kindergarten, Ian Luedke is in third-grade and Connor Luedke is in his last year at the school, in fifth-grade.

“We were lucky enough to be at Evergreen all these years. The school seemed to do a great job mixing up the classes to welcome the new kids from Schofield Elementary. It is a catalyst to get kids to make new friends. It will be an exciting year,” Luedke said. Luedke also has another one on the way, she is due any time now.

“But, as a mom, how can I miss this?” she said.

11:26 a.m.: At Stettin Elementary School, Principal Kelly Halvorsen is in her first year leading the school after spending last year as an assistant principal at Horace Mann Middle School and Montessori Charter School. Before that, Halvorsen was a long-time kindergarten teacher in the district.

“It just felt so good,” Halvorsen said this morning. “You never have to outgrow that excitement for the first day of school.”

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Students at Stettin spent the morning watching a video, featuring some of their fellow students, about playground safety and how to properly use each piece of playground equipment, Halvorsen said.

The students made the video this summer as school officials and parents worked on plans for a district-wide initiative to improve playground safety.

11:22 a.m.: Dale Millard, 61, retired from Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co. last year and now volunteers at Lincoln Elementary School reading one-on-one with students and helping them master reading.

After he retired, Millard “just wanted to find something valuable to do,” he said.

“I’m a grandparent, so I play that role. As a parent, I was a disciplinarian and here I just get to have fun.”

10:57 a.m.: A $7.6 million addition and renovation project spruced up the Edgar School District's building, which houses early childhood through high school students.

The construction added new classrooms, a new cafeteria, a new fine arts space including a new band room and a new Phy Ed. space with a wellness center.

Linda Christianson, a third grade teacher, said having the additional elementary classrooms meant class sizes can be smaller.

"Not only can you have more interaction with the students, but there’s more space in her room where she can set up learning areas and have better interactions with the kids," Christianson said.

Holly Denfeld, 16, a junior, said the changes are “brighter, more colorful and more fun. It’s a little more exciting to start the new school year.”

10:50 a.m.: Julie Sprague, principal at Horace Mann Middle School, this morning was starting her first school year as the school's leader after spending past five years as principal at South Mountain Elementary School.

She said everything at the middle school is on a larger scale than her previous job. South Mountain has about 200 students, and Horace Mann is home to nearly 800.

She has chllenged herself with the daunting task of learning the names of all 800 kids, and said this morning she had met fewer than 20.

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To ease the transition for sixth-grade students who are entering middle school, Sprague and assistant principals Al Betry and Josh Ernst, who are also new to the school, gathered all sixth-graders together to introduce themselves and then led all of the sixth-graders to their home rooms.

“It gives the students some comfort and security,” Sprague said.

She said this morning it was “all hands on deck” as staff welcomed new students and the day was going smoothly — though a handful of kids couldn’t remember where their lockers were.

10:35 a.m.: The Wausau School District has implemented a program this year at its schools that officials think will make playgrounds safer.

Maine Elementary School Principal Joy Trollop and teachers at the school were telling students about new “zones” on the playground. One zone includes the swings and jungle gym, another is an area for four-square, and one zone includes a soccer field.

Previously, students could run and play wherever they wanted on the playground. Now, certain activities are limited to each zone so students aren’t dodging balls or jump ropes when they are trying to play on a swing. Teachers and staff are stationed in the zones to make sure students are being safe.

“We tell the students that this all for safety and supervision,” Trollop said after finishing a talk with students on the wind-swept playground.

Trollop said the first day of school went off without a hitch. She saw a few students clinging to a parent’s leg and a few sobs from kindergarten students, which she said is typical for the first day of school.

Trollop said she heard of one parent who put their child on the school bus and then drove to the school so the parent could get a picture of the student getting off the school bus.

10:22 a.m.:Administrators at the Merrill Area Public Schools on Tuesday launched two leadership programs that connect upper-level students with younger students.

The Where Everybody Belongs, or WEB, program connects eighth-grade student-mentors with sixth-grade students. The second program, Link Crew, pairsjuniors and seniors at Merrill High School with freshmen.

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Student mentors have already begun to help their younger counterparts withorientation and locating their classrooms and lockers. Throughout theschool year, the program will host activities aimed at buildingrelationships among students, Prairie River Middle School Principal GeraldBeyer said.

The program so far is proving to be effective, Beyer said.

"At 8 a.m. This morning, the bell rung and we had no kids in the hall,"Beyer said.

The only snafu this morning involved getting schedules to the handful of students who hadn’t already picked up their list of classes.

Przekurat said the high school has 11 new teachers this year, including four in the special education department. But the other big change is that the school now has a wireless Internet system in place.

“So we’re allowing students to bring their own hand-held devices,” he said.

The school also is in its second year of putting upper and lower classmen together in homeroom for the first day.

“The reason we’re trying it is the upper classmen can help the under classmen out,” he said.

10:15 a.m.: Among the seven new staff members at Grant Elementary School is Principal Chris Nyman.

Nyman moved to Wausau from Milwaukee, where he worked as an administrator in the literacy department of Milwaukee Public Schools.

"There's no other way to describe it other than seamless," he said of the transition to his new job. "Not a whole lot of anxiety or nervousness this morning."
Nyman said the day overall is off to "a great start."

"Everybody is in their classrooms, hopefully learning something," he said.

9:36 a.m.: At Marathon High School, the first day is a little different than at many local schools.

Only the freshman have a full day of school today, to attend Freshmen Jumpstart, a day-long orientation program that gets them acquainted with staff and other elements of high school. Sophomores, juniors and seniors begin class Friday.

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Principal David Beranek said during the orientation, students watch a slide show that highlights all the available activities at the school, and also meet every teacher. They also begin work on their four-year plan. At about 9:20 a.m., they were finishing the slide show, he said.

New this year at the high school, all freshmen are required to take a personal finance class, and also will begin creating a digital online portfolio of their work.

Like other local schools, Marathon High School was hit by budget cuts. The school now shares a counselor with the middle/elementary school, and has dealt with a small increase in student enrollment, he said.

9:34 a.m.:Four students at John Muir Middle School in Wausau tried out the school’s new distance learning lab.

The students are taking first period geometry, a course that is not offered at the school, but is available at Wausau West High School, John Muir Middle School Principal Dean Hess said. In past years, students in this course had to take a bus to the high school to take the class. The new lab is equipped with computer screens for students to interact with the teacher at the high school. Now students and school officials don’t have to worry about the transportation issue and students won’t miss the first few minutes of their second period class, Hess said.

Incoming sixth grade students who needed to ask for help finding their way through the school didn’t have to look hard to find a school staff member. Hess said that all the staff wore bright yellow shirts to make them stand out from the crowd.

“A lot of sixth graders coming from the smaller elementary schools get here and it’s a big change for them,” Hess said.

9:31 a.m. Students continued to trickle in at 9 a.m. to A.C. Kiefer Elementary School on Wausau’s north west side. Parents had registered some students during an open house Wednesday.

According to Julie Bermesch, principal there since 2000, this year about 195 students will be enrolled in the school’s 4-year-old kindergarten and early childhood special education. Bermesch said the day is off to “a great, smooth start.”

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“We’ve had no criers, which is unusual because this is their first experience with school and sometimes it’s hard to separate them from their parents,” Bermesch said.

Bermesch said she and other staff at the school try to engage students who are crying or feeling shy with play activities. She also said the school allows parents to stay, but asks that they stay in the hallway.

9:20 a.m. Rothschild Elementary School this year is taking an estimated 95 students from the closed Schofield Elementary School, giving the school 410 students total.

There was a lot of laughing and some crying among the students as they arrived, with teachers there going out of their way to make new students feel welcome.

Ava P’ng, 6 and starting first grade, was going to the school for the first time, after going to Schofield Elementary for kindergarten. But she said she's okay with the change “because they’re both good schools. They teach things that I don’t know.”

Her mother, Margaret P’ng, said teachers there really care, and they’ll make it work.

9:07 a.m.: Second-grader Kassie Hyde arrived at Weston Elementary School a few minutes before the doors opened with her parents and stood outside, excited but nervous.

“I’m a little shy,” Kassie said, holding her mom’s hand. She’s looking forward to learning more this year and already knowing a few girls in her homeroom class.

At about 8:20 a.m., yellow school buses full of students began arriving at the rear entrance of the school where Principal Fritz Lehrke was waiting to greet them with a big smile and pats on the back.

“I’ve been trying to call you about the football team,” Lehrke said to one student. “We’ll have to talk later, okay?”

The boy nodded and smiled.

9:05 a.m.: Principal Marla Berg at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Wausau said the morning so far has gone off without a hitch for her staff and the approximately 310 students.

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“All the buses got here on time and the kids are into their classes," Berg said. "The next test will be lunch.”

Berg said the school has six new teachers this year in areas including special education, art and speech. Three student teachers are also spending the semester at Jefferson.

As principal, it’s Berg’s job to know everybody walking through the halls, which she said is “very difficult, because I am not a name person, I’m a face person.” Berg said she is not above simply asking students.

“I found if I’m stumped and don’t remember, I’ll just ask, ‘Can you tell me your name? You know I’m terrible with names.’”

8:50 a.m.:The first day of classes at Riverview Elementary School, 4303 Troy St. in Wausau, meant getting to work right away for about a dozen students on the school safety patrol.

Fifth-grade student Jack Sheridan is captain of the safety patrol and hoisted the American and Wisconsin flags up on the flag pole outside the school’s front doors. The safety patrol then scattered to the streets surrounding the school where they helped students and parents cross the roadways.

“It’s important to keep people safe,” the 11-year-old Sheridan said.

See Yang walked her 9-year-old son, Ivan Yang, to school while carrying her 4-month old grandson and two other your young grandchildren walking behind. Mother and son were both nonchalant and had no first-day jitters about school. For See Yang, Ivan was her 10th child she has seen on their way to the first day of school.

“This is the last one,” See Yang said. “It gets easier over time.”

8:48 a.m.: Alec Sauer said he was “pretty excited” for his first day of fifth grade at John Marshall Elementary School, 1918 Lamont St., in Wausau.

Sauer, 10, rode his mountain bike about one mile to get to school this morning. He said is summer was fun and included a trip to Chicago, but he was ready to get back to school. Sauer said his favorite subject is math.

“Summer can get boring because after a while you’ve done everything,” Sauer said as he locked up his bicycle on a bike rack.

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8:32 a.m.: Cheryl Griffiths, a first-grade teacher’s assistant, stood outside of Mosinee Elementary School welcoming students back — something she’s done for 20 years. She was excited to be back, but said that even after two decades she still gets nervous before the first day of school.

“I didn’t sleep a wink last night,” Griffiths said.

Marisa Anderson, 26, of Mosinee was dropping her 5-year-old son Michael off for his first day of kindergarten. After getting him on the school bus, she followed the bus to the school so she could walk him into school.

She said the turmoil over collective bargaining in Madison does concern her a little, because she wants to feel sure that everyone’s focus will be on education.

“I just want (Michael) to get the education he deserves,” she said.

8:24 a.m.:One of the buses was late to Kate Goodrich Elementary School in Merrill. Getting off the bus, one of the kids asked “How late are we?”

Not terribly late — just a few minutes after the school’s 7:30 a.m. start time.

Principal Mark Jahnke said Kate Goodrich is launching a hot breakfast pilot program, with today as the first day of a month-long test period. If successful, the hot breakfasts could be adopted at other schools in the district.

Jahnke said he was glad to be back.

“There’s nothing like the first day of school,” Jahnke said. “The kids are happy. They’re smiling.”

8:10 a.m.: At Franklin Elementary School in Wausau, Tiffany Keckhaver, 28, had just dropped off daughter Alyna for her first day of kindergarten

“I couldn’t get her awake this morning,” she said. “But I said ‘Come on, it’s time to get ready for school,’ and she popped right up.”

Tiffany said she was a bit nervous about the first day of classes. She was not able to attend orientation for new students because it conflicted with her work schedule, and neither she nor Alyna was entirely prepared for what lay ahead.

“She has been in Head Start for two years, but this is the big leagues now," Tiffany said.

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Art teacher Mary Lucareli was looking forward to the new day with more enthusiam than the Keckhavers.

“I have the best job in the school. I get to have fun all day," she said.

Lucareli teaching art in a public school gives her a freedom that her art teacher never had.

“I went to Catholic school and we just drew Jesus all the time,” she said.

8:02 a.m.: At D.C. Everest Middle School, tech-ed teacher Andy Guden said he always enjoys the first day of school.

"I love the energy and excitement of all the kids," he said. "I like seeing the kids I had last year and meeting the new ones coming in."

He said the first day is always emotional, especially for sixth-graders who are moving from elementary school into middle school.

"This is a big school and it can be scary for them," he said. "Last year, I had a girl come to my classroom and she knew she was in the wrong place. But she didn't know where she was supposed to be, so she started to cry, but we got things figured out and everything was fine."

7:45 a.m.: At Mosinee Middle School, kids were rolling, walking and - in at least one case - hobbling into school.

Tailor Higbee, was starting the eighth-grade on crutches. He hurt his left leg this week trying to do a trick on his bike so he was limping as fast as he could to beat the morning bell

He said it was bad enough that summer was over. Being on crutches only compounded his misery.

"It hurts bad, and it's tiring walking in," he said.

A crossing guard in front of the middle school, Cindy Jirgl, said she enjoyed getting to know kids again after the long summer, even if her duties do slow down traffic as she chats.

"Some parents don't like it, but the ones who have little kids enjoy it immensely," she said.

Jean Kohn was dropping off her fourth- and fifth-grade kids at the school this morning. She herself just started classes at NTC, in a health care program, and is looking forward to having the children out of the house so she can have some quiet time to study.

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"They're 9 and 10, so they're a little wired," she said.

7:25 a.m.: About a half an hour before classes started at Horace Mann, a line of cars stretched two blocks south of the school on North 13th Street as parents waited to drop off their kids.

"It's always a little hard to come back after three months off," she said. "But it's a beautiful day and I'm happy to be here.'

As Muschinske directed traffic, the morning's fog was burning off and the sun was peaking through on what promised to turn into a hot, muggy first day of classes.

7:15 a.m.: At Horace Mann Middle School in Wausau, Julie Cleveland dropped off her two sons, Aaron Cleveland, a sixth-grader, and Austin Severson, a seventh-grader.

"I think I'm more nervous than he is," Julie Cleveland said of Aaron's first day in middle school. "He has a hard time remembering things and I'm worried he might forget where his classes are."

Julie Cleveland works as a cook at Our Savior Lutheran School in Wausau, and took the first day of work off, a tradition her mom started.

Sixth-grader Zoe Cronce-Gardner arrived at Horace Mann this morning admitting to being "sort of nervous" for her first day in middle school. She said she had a hard time deciding on a first-day outfit.

"It took forever to get the bottoms right, whether I would wear shorts or a skirt," she said.

Zoe ended up wearing jeans for the first day of class.

7:20 a.m.: About 20 senior girls stood in the parking lot of the D.C. Everest Senior High School, pulling on matching green t-shirts with “D.C. Senior” printed on the front and 2012 on the back.

Laurissa Christianson of Weston tried to wrangle the group into a picture before heading inside to start their final year of high school.

“My mom and I thought of the idea, just as something special for our last year,” Christianson said. “I’m excited for graduation already.”

One of the other girls wearing green, Kaitlyn Beck of Weston, said the first day of her senior year is “bittersweet.”

“It’s exciting to be almost done with high school but sad to leave behind friends we’ve known as far back as kindergarten,” Beck said.